Yasmeen Abedifard

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

California

"I want to tear these thoughts out of my flesh. How could I forget just how rotten I am?" In this collection of contemplative and cathartic short comics, the pomegranate Anar and the woman Guli exist as reflections of each other -- repellent to one another and yet inexorably drawn together once more. As they evolve through each story, proceeding through the stages of the plant life cycle, they take on new roles: muse and artist, gardener and seed, lover and fruit. The iterations reveal new revelations, exploring the themes of shame, grief, destiny, and survival at each turn. Abedifard's comic form evokes Persianate storytelling and draws on stylistic elements found in illuminated manuscripts, building an experience as rich and complex as the taste of pomegranate on one's tongue.

When to Pick a Pomegranate

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Arwen Elys Dayton

"Six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of human"--

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

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Ye Chun

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Stories

Longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
 
An extraordinary debut collection of short stories by a three-time Pushcart Prize winner following Chinese women in both China and the United States who turn to signs and languages as they cross the alien landscapes of migration and motherhood.

"The most common word in Chinese, perhaps, a ubiquitous syllable people utter and hear all the time, which is supposed to mean good. But what is hao in this world, where good books are burned, good people condemned, meanness considered a good trait, violence good conduct? People say hao when their eyes are marred with suspicion and dread. They say hao when they are tattered inside."
 
By turns reflective and visceral, the stories in Hao examine the ways in which women can be silenced as they grapple with sexism and racism, and how they find their own language to define their experience.

In "Gold Mountain," a young mother hides above a ransacked store during the San Francisco anti-Chinese riot of 1877. In "A Drawer," an illiterate mother invents a language through drawing. And in "Stars," a graduate student loses her ability to speak after a stroke. Together, these twelve stories create "an unsettling, hypnotic collection spanning centuries, in which language and children act simultaneously as tethers and casting lines, the reasons and the tools for moving forward after trauma. "You'll come away from this beautiful book changed" (Julia Fine, author of The Upstairs House).

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Maurice Carlos Ruffin

A Novel

“An incisive and necessary” (Roxane Gay) debut for fans of Get Out and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, about a father’s obsessive quest to protect his son—even if it means turning him white “Stunning and audacious . . . at once a pitch-black comedy, a chilling horror story and an endlessly perceptive novel about the possible future of race in America.”—NPR LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD, THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE, THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD, AND THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE WASHINGTON POST “You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before.” This is the seductive promise of Dr. Nzinga’s clinic, where anyone can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization will liberate you from the confines of being born in a black body—if you can afford it. In this near-future Southern city plagued by fenced-in ghettos and police violence, more and more residents are turning to this experimental medical procedure. Like any father, our narrator just wants the best for his son, Nigel, a biracial boy whose black birthmark is getting bigger by the day. The darker Nigel becomes, the more frightened his father feels. But how far will he go to protect his son? And will he destroy his family in the process? This electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. At its center is a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world. Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s work evokes the clear vision of Ralph Ellison, the dizzying menace of Franz Kafka, and the crackling prose of Vladimir Nabokov. We Cast a Shadow fearlessly shines a light on the violence we inherit, and on the desperate things we do for the ones we love.

We Cast a Shadow

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Xochitl Gonzalez

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Olga Dies Dreaming

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Julia May Jonas

A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students—a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own... “When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.” And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extra-marital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding. With this bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured debut, author Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the boundaries of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and wildly entertaining, Vladimir perfectly captures the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the nuances and the grey area between power and desire.

Vladimir

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Lauren James

A surprising and gripping sci-fi thriller with a killer twist The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on the Infinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth. Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the Eternity, will be joining the Infinity. Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the Eternity, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

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Gege Akutami

Ballad Kitaguni

Resurrect the tense conflict between the Jujutsu Sorcerers and the cursed spirits in this collection of original stories. Sorcery and demon curses abound in this collection of stories spun from the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. A talent scout who approaches Kugisaki on a street corner turns out to be a Cursed Speech user with an ulterior motive. When Inumaki comes to her rescue, things don’t quite turn out as he planned… Then Mechamaru goes on a solo mission, Gojo and friends take a night off, and more chilling and charming adventures ensue in these five short stories set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road at Dawn

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Wendy Andrade

Wendy Andrade

@wendywillread

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Yasmeen Abedifard

When to Pick a Pomegranate

Arwen Elys Dayton

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

Ye Chun

Hao

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

We Cast a Shadow

Xochitl Gonzalez

Olga Dies Dreaming

Julia May Jonas

Vladimir

Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Gege Akutami; Ballad Kitaguni

Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road at Dawn

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Yasmeen Abedifard

When to Pick a Pomegranate

Arwen Elys Dayton

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

Ye Chun

Hao

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

We Cast a Shadow

Xochitl Gonzalez

Olga Dies Dreaming

Julia May Jonas

Vladimir

Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Gege Akutami; Ballad Kitaguni

Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road at Dawn

Get The App